On 25 June 2012 it was announced on her official website that Chisholm was in the process of putting the finishing touches on her upcoming album, to be called Stages. The record was to be produced by her longtime collaborator Peter-John Vettese, and features a collection of songs from the theatre that have been important to Chisholm at various stages of her life. On 6 July 2012, after a succession of mysterious tweets between Chisholm and her former Spice Girls group mate Emma Bunton, it was revealed that the two had recorded a song together for Chisholm's upcoming album. The song "I Know Him So Well" from the musical Chess, was to be a duet featuring the two. The original artwork for the album featured Chisholm sitting in a black leather chair. Alongside the album's track list, it was unveiled on 21 July 2012. It was later reported that this art would serve only for digital versions of the album and a photograph of Chisholm walking down stairs would serve as the image for physical releases. However, the latter image ended up being used for both physical and digital releases. The iTunes digital release of the album features a bonus track; a cover of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes".
Promotion
To increase the sales of the album, Chisholm held an album signing sessions on HMV. In September 2012 and October 2012, she visited six HMV stores to sign the copies of her album Stages. Chisholm also performed the album track "I Don't Know Howto Love Him" on This Morning, QVC, Superstar and The Late Late Show. Chisholm also performed at "Beats at the Beach" in Abu Dhabi on 1 November 2012 as part of Yasalam 2012.
Singles
"I Don't Know How to Love Him", a song taken from the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, was released on 22 July 2012 as a digital download on iTunes, serving as a special preview for the album. The song peaked at number twenty in the Official UK Indie Chart. The official lead single from the album, "I Know Him So Well" was released on 11 November 2012. The single features Emma Bunton, Chisholm's groupmate from the Spice Girls. Chisholm and Bunton performed the song live on various TV shows such as Loose Women, This Morning, The Alan Titchmarsh Show, and the BBC Children in Need 2012 concert. The single reached #153 in the Official UK Top 200 singles chart. The b-side of the single is a cover of "You'll Never Walk Alone" from the musical Carousel.
Chart performance
On the day of its release, the album debuted in the top 10 of the iTunes Pop Album Chart in the UK. The album also charted in the iTunes Pop Charts in Australia, France, Italy and Spain. Stages debuted and peaked at number 50 in the UK, giving Chisholm her sixth consecutive entry in the Official Albums Chart Top 100. The album also reached the top ten on the Official UK Indie Album Chart, at number seven.
